Respite Care in NYC

Can someone please explain to me like I'm a 5 year old WHAT respite care is exactly and how does it work?

My older son is 3.5 with PDD-NOS. He gets to school 3 days for 2.5 hours. He gets in home SEIT for 5xs 3 hours a week and 5xs 30 mins of speech. He also gets 2xs 45 minutes of OT at a sensory gym.

My youngest was diagnosed on Monday with Mild autism (apparently they dont use PDD-NOS any more). He is going to be going 5xs 2 hours of ABA in the home and 5xs 2 hours of ABA in the center. Plus 5xs 30 mins of speech and 2xs 30 mins of OT a week.

I don't drive and their therapists overlap. I'm stressing and someone recommended a respite but I cant get a straight answer and I'm not understanding anything I read online. Help please. I'm in Brooklyn.

Respite Care in NYC

To qualify for paid for respite care, you have to get approved through OPWDD. If you want to just pay or respite care, you can obviously do that. You just have to find someone. They usually come to your home while you go out or do other things. OR they have programs on the weekends and school holidays through agencies that you take your child to. At least this is all my understanding of how it works.

Respite Care in NYC

Your qualify for respite care based on your child's level of disability. OPWDD would approve you and tell you the # of hours you are eligible for. Basically, respite is to give you a break. Some people have a respite worker come to their house and take care of the children so you can go out and do things without them. Some people choose to have the respite worker come while they are home, just to give them a break. My DS is in a weekend program where we drop him off for a set # of hours a couple of times a month and then come back and pick him up later.

You might be able to use the repsite worker for when you have to take one of the kids to therapy and the other one is home (if the one who is home is the one who is approved for the respite services). I know some people hire the workers through agencies, but I think you can also hire someone you know and they would get paid for it.